


all the time in the world

by starklystar



Series: leave the war at the doorstep [5]
Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Sorcerer Supreme Tony Stark, Time Shenanigans, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and a tiny bit of angst, tony uses the time stone for very non petty uses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24997240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starklystar/pseuds/starklystar
Summary: Steve stares at the green stone shining in the air above Tony’s hand, not quite comprehending what he just heard.“I’m sorry,” he blinks confusedly at his husband, “you can control time now? With that? I thought you hated magic?”“Well,” Tony grins at him, “I figured this magic has its uses.”
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: leave the war at the doorstep [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654537
Comments: 7
Kudos: 272





	all the time in the world

**Author's Note:**

> i forgot that i haven't posted this over here! so here it is :)

Steve stares at the green stone shining in the air above Tony’s hand, not quite comprehending what he just heard.

“I’m sorry,” he blinks confusedly at his husband, “you can control time now? With that? I thought you hated magic?”

“Well,” Tony grins at him, “I figured this magic has its uses.”

* * *

Being married to the Sorcerer Supreme isn’t much of a difference from being married to Iron Man and Tony Stark. Except fixing world-ending disasters becomes stopping universe-ending catastrophes, and instead of only a flying suit, Tony is now also in possession of a flying cape.

A flying cape who seems to have a grudge against Steve.

Other than that, Steve still finds his husband slumped in the workshop after an inventing binge, or haunting the kitchen at 3 a.m. looking for some of his precious coffee. It’s a private amusement – and a privilege – to see the most powerful being in the universe with singed hair sticking out like a bird’s nest, mumbling incoherent promises to take Steve to bed.

Of course, there are also the perks to being married to the most powerful being in the universe.

Tony likes to call them part of the job benefits.

In public, Steve calls them abuse of power. But in private?

In private, he reminds Tony just how much he loves him.

* * *

“I’m tired,” Steve groans, sitting down heavily on their bed.

“Then rest, dear,” Tony glances up from his tablet, looking supremely unimpressed. The sight of Tony wearing glasses never fails to make Steve smile, though, and simply having his husband near him again helps lift some of the burden off his shoulders.

“I don’t have the time. We have a mission tomorrow, and there’s a lot to do.”

Tony sighs. Putting down his tablet on the bedside table, he lifts up the blanket next to him, patting the bed in an obvious order for Steve to get in. Wisely, Steve doesn’t argue. He’s too tired for much bickering, and it’s been a long day. 

“I can _make_ you the time,” Tony sidles closer to him, brushing the hair out of Steve’s eyes. He stretches his left hand out into the empty air, muttering a few ancient words Steve will never understand, and then, the green glow of the Time Stone fills their bedroom.

“You can’t, Tony, that’s not – ” he protests weakly, torn between wanting the rest and the thought of using such a powerful object for the sake of a nap.

With a snort of amusement, Tony reminds him, “darling, it’s not like anybody can stop me from doing it.”

Steve’s lips twitch up at that. He himself can’t stop Tony when his husband has his mind stubbornly set on something, and Steve realises there isn’t much he can do except press himself closer to Tony’s side and say, ”thank you. I love you.”

“After everything you’ve given me, Steve?” Tony’s eyes shine, the air rippling with the power of the promise, “I’d give you the universe.”

He tugs Tony down by the front of his shirt, relishing the way Tony’s lips part for him, pliant and warm.

“You already have,” Steve tells him.

* * *

Tony freezes the clock for ten hours to let his husband rest. He supposes there are worse ways to use his power.

And better ways, too.

* * *

“Tony, Kang’s getting away again,” Steve yells into the comms, slamming his shield into another robot from the future.

“I thought I told you to stop him?” Tony grumbles. There’s the sound of repulsors, and then, more of Kang the Conqueror’s useless monologuing which Steve rolls his eyes at as he jumps off the robot’s back, searching for the next threat.

“You control Time itself, and you use it for petty purposes. Join me and we will – ”

Abruptly, Steve feels the border of Time roll past him, keeping him unaffected by the magic. No matter how many times he’s felt the world freeze around him, it always feels surreal, leaving his skin prickling and his senses dialled up until he finds Tony and manages to relax. 

The Iron Man armor lands gracefully in front of Steve, with the Time Stone glowing at the center of its chest where the reactor used to be. Around them, everything is eerily still, suspended in Time, waiting for Tony’s command. These seconds are theirs and theirs alone, to do whatever they pleased as the universe waited. It’s as giddying as it’s terrifying, but when Tony retracts his helmet to give Steve a crooked grin, that all fades away, leaving only a warm fondness.

“I was tired of listening to him,” Tony grumbles with the slightest pout, “and stopping Time just to kiss you isn’t _petty_.”

“You’ve got to admit that it does get questionable when you stretch five minutes into an hour so we can stay in bed longer,” Steve teases back. He’s grateful for the respite from the battle, though, and having Tony here feels soothing. Real, solid proof that he’s still alive despite the dangers Kang had brought to inflict against the world.

Tony smirks, holding out his hand for Steve to take. “That was quite different from the sounds you made this morning, Steven.”

“We’re not doing _anything_ in the middle of the battle,” he sternly orders. As ravishing as Tony looked now, anything they wanted to do could be done somewhere more comfortable. He grabs onto the handholds designed in the armor, bracing himself for the lift-off. “I want to get this over with faster.”

“As my supreme husband commands,” Tony teases. “I’ll drop you on his ship. Get in the position you need to take it out, then I’ll restart Time.”

Over the roar of the repulsors coming to life again, Steve yells, “have I mentioned how useful your green pebble is?”

Tony laughs, lifting them off the ground into the air. “Did you just call an Infinity Stone a _pebble_?” 

“You’re the one who likes nicknames,” Steve grins. This close to Tony, he can see the gold in his eyes, shining bright with mirth and affection. It gives Steve strength - and courage - to know that he’ll always have Tony whenever he needs him.

An armored hand loops behind his head as Tony pulls him in for a long, lingering kiss.

“That I do, Winghead.”

* * *

“I wish we could freeze this moment forever,” Steve breathes out, looking out into the sea, the soft glow of the setting sun casting its long shadows over them both. It feels peaceful, here, only the two of them at the edge of the ocean, the waves crashing and going without any thought for their presence. To have nobody care about whatever they choose to do in this little corner of the world, no villains, no flashing cameras – it feels freeing, too.

Tony presses closer to him, shifting around to look Steve in the eye. The beach chair really was made for one person, but Tony wouldn’t be Tony if he wasn’t stubborn.

“You know,” Tony begins, and Steve can _hear_ the smile in his voice, “I could actually do that.”

“Tony, _no_ ,” Steve tries to argue.

“Not forever,” his husband smiles at him, the Time Stone appearing in Tony’s hand, flaring bright, “just for a little bit longer.”

Steve looks up at the sky, the first stars of the night frozen in their place, and the ocean silent, waiting for Time to start again. All he can hear is the sound of Tony’s breaths, and their thudding heartbeats, gentle, steady, beating in rhythm as Tony’s warm, bare skin brushes against his own.

This. This was more than peace. This was contentment.

He’s never been able to deny his husband anything, anyway.

“A little bit longer,” Steve relents, pressing a kiss into the tangled strands of Tony’s hair.

Even now, with sand stuck between the curls, he can find the hint of grease and coffee that never quite leaves his husband.

This, he corrects himself again, was home.

* * *

“I could send you back in time, you know,” Tony says one night. They’ve finished dinner, and are lounging on the couch with some random movie playing in the background. Steve’s long since given up the pretence of paying attention to it, much preferring to enjoy his husband’s presence.

While the words come without much weight to them, Steve knows from the stiffening of Tony’s shoulders that this was something bigger than Tony wanted him to know. Hesitantly, he asks, trailing off, “do you mean...”

“Yeah,” Tony shifts around beside him, his elbows poking into Steve’s ribs. His voice comes haltingly. “I know you still have regrets. And I’ve been selfish, keeping this a secret from you.”

Steve reaches down to take Tony’s hand, gently tangling their fingers together, their rings clinking softly against each other. “Would anything I do in the past have effects on the future?”

“You’d create a new branch in time. What happens in this future stays the same.”

That’s acceptable enough, Steve decides. He wants to change the past, but he doesn’t want to threaten the safety of the universe. 

“Will you come with me?” he asks.

Tony makes a pained sound. “Steve, I would, but you can’t – you can’t possibly ask me to watch you leave me behind.”

 _Ah,_ Steve understands, and his heart aches because of it.

“Tony. Sweetheart?” Steve squeezes his hand gently, “will you look at me, please?”

He hears Tony swallow hard before he smiles a trembling smile up at Steve, “it’s alright, Steve. I understand.”

Steve shakes his head, willing Tony to _listen_. Carefully, with his free hand, he cups Tony’s face, curling his fingers beneath the sharp slant of Tony’s jaw to feel the thrum of the pulse beating rapidly there.

“I married you for a reason,” Steve starts, saying the words clearly and slowly, “I married you because I never loved anyone as much as I love you. Clearly, I’ve been remiss in making sure you knew that, but the past is the past,” he brushes his thumb along Tony’s cheeks, coaxing a truer smile from him. “Sweetheart, you’re my future. My home. When I dream of tomorrow, I dream of you.”

“Then why would you...” Tony tries to question, his words unsure, disbelieving.

“Well,” Steve shrugs, “there are a few people from your past whose faces need to be introduced to my fist.” _Everyone who made you doubt yourself like this._ “I wanted to pop back and give them what they deserved.”

“You wouldn’t – you don’t want to stay in the past?

Again, Steve shakes his head. “It’d be nice for me to go back and get a chance for a proper goodbye with some people. I’d want you to meet those people, too. But I don’t want it if it hurts you.”

Tony stares at him for a second longer before he lets out a harsh laugh, finally leaning into Steve’s touch. 

“Do you know how much I love you?” Tony sniffs.

Steve does, in fact, know. He’ll always love being reminded, though.

“I’m guessing you’re about to show me.”

“Damn right, I am,” Tony pulls him in for a long, hot kiss. “And I have all the time in the _universe_ to do that.”

“Then get to it,” Steve grins.

* * *

Steve does end up going back in time.

Tony gets the blessing of Sarah Rogers, and a _lot_ of blackmail material.

* * *

There were _some_ limits, though.

Steve draws the line when Tony offers to take him on a date to Venice in the 1500s to meet Da Vinci. Or the 1800s to meet Van Gogh. Or even to watch the sunrise on Xandar. 

The entirety of time and space at the tips of his fingers, Tony had spread his arms wide, and Steve could choose anywhere, anywhen, anyone.

It’s by far the easiest choice Steve has to make. 

“Why do I need to meet Da Vinci when I have Tony Stark?”

“Steve, I’m the Sorcerer Supreme. You can ask me to take you anywhere you want,” Tony huffs, crossing his arms. He looks annoyed, but the crinkles at the corners of his eyes betray him, and Steve grins, satisfied that he said something that made Tony happy.

“You’re my _husband_ ,” Steve shakes his head. There will be time, later, for them to actually visit the past and see the universe. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t interested. But right now, Steve only wants to treasure today, and the chance to spend it with Tony. “All I want is to take you out to get some of your favorite burgers, and then, to our bed.”

A flush creeps up Tony’s cheeks, and he bites his lip, fighting against a growing smile.

“Fine, I guess that’s alright,” he pretends to think about it as he leaves the couch and walks towards Steve. 

“Good to know you have the time for it.”

Tony laughs, happy and shameless. Then, attempting to school his face into some semblance of sternness, he shoots back, “but if you want lousy burgers, you heathen, you’re paying.”

“Well,” Steve takes Tony’s hand in his, bringing it up to his lips to press a kiss across the golden ring there, “you’re worth it.”

* * *

If Tony uses the Time Stone to stretch their date longer, well. Steve just uses it as permission to kiss him longer, too.

**Author's Note:**

> also posted on my [tumblr](https://starklysteve.tumblr.com/post/621002265049890817/all-the-time-in-the-world)


End file.
